Duo serving Tallahassee pickleball to national audience

Larae Donnellan and Judy Lyle are competing at the 2015 National Senior Games in an effort to put Tallahassee on Florida’s Pickleball map. With a women’s doubles medal to their credit from the 2014 Florida International Senior Games & State Championships, they qualified for the 2015 National Senior Games in Bloomington/Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and will play in the crowded and talented 65-69 age group.

“It will be interesting,” said Donnellan, speaking between games at the Lafayette Park Sue McCollum Center. “Judy and I are training like crazy. We play six or seven days a week.”

Donnellan and Lyle come from creative backgrounds. Larae Donnellan recently retired as a journalism and public relations professor at Florida A&M after a career in higher education that began in 1975. Judy Lyle is an artist who made and sold her own pottery.

Since their retirements, the duo exploded on the Florida Pickleball scene and are taking steps to shape Tallahassee as the next hotbed of the sport in North Florida. Donnellan started playing pickleball while still working at FAMU but her schedule only allowed her to play once or twice a week. Once she retired on June 30, 2014, there has been no looking back.

“I’m really having fun as a senior athlete,” Donnellan said. “I have always been busy and active in my career and have always been competitive. I’ve found another part of me.” The spirit Donnellan brings to the game is reflected in Lyle, who has a strong tennis background of playing at a high level. She played on several league teams over the years at the number one position and according to Donnellan, is “the best female pickleball player in Tallahassee.” I’m a newcomer to the sport, “Lyle said. “I’ve only been playing about two years. Most of the top pickleball teams have a tennis background.”

Lyle seems to be the strategist of the Tallahassee duo and claims she is still learning the different strategies and shots of the game. She watches videos of top players online and videos her own matches to find ways to improve. “In pickleball, you can improve with age,” she said. “It’s more of a net game and there’s not as much movement. The size of the court allows people to pick it up and improve their game in their senior years.”

With Donnellan’s enthusiasm for the game, evident at Florida Senior Day, where she demonstrated with local partners and curious onlookers in the Capitol Courtyard, combined with Lyle’s strategic insights and talent, expect a smashing success.